What are you working on at the moment?
I’m dedicating my time to my upcoming show at Between Bridges in Berlin. I’ve been able to take some time to focus solely on developing the show in the space, it’s a rare treat to be able to dive deep into the world of the work, and I really appreciate it. There are some site-specific works I’m still sussing out at the moment, but my intuition is kicking in. I love having the space and time to work like this.
Do you have a daily ritual?
Walking. If I had the time, I’d walk everywhere. I find it an essential tool to reflect on my work, my thoughts, and my ideas.
What do you listen to while working?
I am re-listening to the late American artist Anne Truitt’s audio recording of ›Daybook‹, Truitt’s journal documenting her life and work. It is a joy to listen to Truitt’s narration, her reassuring voice, and steadfast approach keep me company in the studio.
Music-wise, on repeat at the moment is the ›Don’t Look Now‹ and ›The Wicker Man‹ soundtracks. Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, Gustav Mahler, Caroline Polachek, Dizzy Fae, Madonna, Chappell Roan.
Podcasts: Paper Cuts, Bad Gays, The Modern Art Notes, Getty Art + Ideas, Miss Me?.
Which book do you like to gift?
I just bought a dear friend ›David Wojnarowicz: Dear Jean Pierre‹, Wojnarowicz’s correspondences to his Parisian lover Jean Pierre Delage between 1979 and 1982. It is a beautiful volume.
Which art work would you like to have at home?
To whittle down to one is impossible. The first work that comes to mind is Gustave Courbet’s ›Normandy Seascape‹, 1865—6 at the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne. It is an unassuming little painting depicting an overcast day on the Normandy coast. With very little paint, Courbet deftly evokes a gloomy day by the sea, the painting has intense atmosphere. I always make time to say hello to the work when I am in Cologne, always picking up a postcard of it, I must have about 10 now, dotted about my house and studio.
Some more of my favorites: Roni Horn’s works in rubber from the late 1970s, Anne Truitt’s ›First‹, 1962, Paul Cézanne’s ›The Bather‹, c. 1885, Chaïm Soutine’s ›Le Petit Pâtissier‹, 1922—23, an Isa Genzken Hyperbolos work, a Vincent Fecteau sculpture, Martin Wong’s ›Untitled (small brick penis)‹, 1985, a Frank Walter seascape, Blinky Palermo’s ›Winkel rot–weiss‹, 1965 at Dia Beacon, and Park McArthur’s › Passive Vibration Durometer Facts 8‹, 2018.
Your favourite exhibition venue in Berlin?
The collection at the Alte Nationalgalerie is very special. Architecturally, the museum has some quite wild interiors. They are an odd blend of Neoclassicism, Art Nouveau, and a sci-fi aesthetic almost. Special mentions: Gemäldegalerie, Haus am Waldsee, Georg Kolbe Museum, and Brücke-Museum.
What accessory or object could you not be without?
A tape measure. I measure parts of the world that might be useful points of reference for my works.
What keeps you going?
Chocolate.
Who would you like to meet?
Sadly long gone, but I wish I could have met the British artist, Keith Vaughan. He also plays a central role in my upcoming show at Between Bridges.
What do you look forward to after you’ve finished work?
TV, I like the ›Below Deck‹ franchise, and ›The Real Housewives‹ franchise. ›The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City‹ is quite something, watching season 2 right now. Bravo TV calms me down.